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This book is the authorised and fully documented history of the
late Sir Nigel Hawthorne's fifty-year career in the theatre. It
presents an appraisal of post-war theatre by focusing on the
personal journey of one of Britain's finest and most respected
actors. Sir Nigel gave his approval to the book while writing his
autobiography because he saw the two projects as essentially
complementary. It provides the detailed analysis of his stage work,
which he himself did not attempt, but it has been illuminated and
enriched by the personal insights derived from his own generous
interviews and those conducted with some of his close friends and
colleagues in the theatre. The book comprises three distinct
sections. The first (chapters 1-5) is concerned with the
developmental phases of Hawthorne's career and the influence
exerted by certain individuals and theatre companies on his
evolving style and philosophy. It includes his amateur and early
professional performances on the South African stage; his
relocation to England in 1951 and involvement with provincial
repertory companies; his temporary return to South Africa in 1957
and work with the revolutionary Cockpit Players; his life-changing
discovery by Joan Littlewood; and his years with the English Stage
Company at the Royal Court, the Sheffield Playhouse, and the Young
Vic. The second section (chapters 7-10) explores the distinctive
qualities of the mature actor, and the affirmation of his unique
gifts and artistic principles. These later chapters constitute a
case study of his theatrical methodology, having particular regard
to his dissection of the text; his research into and preparation
for a role; and his interaction, during the creative process, with
writers, directors and fellow actors. Among Hawthorne's
performances given special attention are those in "Privates on
Parade", "Shadowlands", "The Madness of George III" and "King
Lear". Linking the first two sections is a short chapter (6) on
Hawthorne's occasional forays into playwriting and directing. The
third section is a series of chronologies, including particularly a
comprehensive record of Hawthorne's amateur and professional stage
work from 1947 to 2000.
Before "Fred and Ginger," there was "Fred and Adele," a
show-business partnership and cultural sensation like no other. In
our celebrity-saturated era, it's hard to comprehend what a genuine
phenomenon these two siblings from Omaha were. At the height of
their success in the mid-1920s, the Astaires seemed to define the
Jazz Age. They were Gershwin's music in motion, a fascinating pair
who wove spellbinding rhythms in song and dance. In this book, the
first comprehensive study of their theatrical career together,
Kathleen Riley traces the Astaires' rise to fame from humble
midwestern origins and early days as child performers on small-time
vaudeville stages (where Fred, fatefully, first donned top hat and
tails) to their 1917 debut on Broadway to star billings on both
sides of the Atlantic. They became ambassadors of an art form they
helped to revolutionize, adored by audiences, feted by royalty, and
courted socially by elites everywhere they went. From the start,
Adele was the more natural performer, spontaneous, funny, and
self-possessed, while Fred had to hone his trademark timing and
elegance through endless hours of rehearsal, a disciplined regimen
that Adele loathed. Ultimately, Fred's dancing expertise surpassed
his sister's, and their paths diverged: Adele married into British
aristocracy, and Fred headed for Hollywood. The Astaires examines
in depth the extraordinary story of this great brother-sister team,
with full attention to its historical and theatrical context. It is
not merely an account of the first part of Fred's long and
illustrious career but one with its own significance. Born at the
close of the 1800s, Fred and Adele grew up together with the new
century, and when they reached superstardom during the interwar
years, they shone as an affirmation of life and hope amid a
prevailing crisis of faith and identity.
Euripides' Herakles, which tells the story of the hero's sudden
descent into filicidal madness, is one of the least familiar and
least performed plays in the Greek tragic canon. Kathleen Riley
explores its reception and performance history from the fifth
century BC to AD 2006. Her focus is upon changing ideas of
Heraklean madness, its causes, its consequences, and its therapy.
Writers subsequent to Euripides have tried to 'reason' or make
sense of the madness, often in accordance with contemporary
thinking on mental illness. She concurrently explores how these
attempts have, in the process, necessarily entailed redefining
Herakles' heroism.
Riley demonstrates that, in spite of its relatively infrequent
staging, the Herakles has always surfaced in historically charged
circumstances - Nero's Rome, Shakespeare's England, Freud's Vienna,
Cold-War and post-9/11 America - and has had an undeniable impact
on the history of ideas. As an analysis of heroism in crisis, a
tragedy about the greatest of heroes facing an abyss of despair but
ultimately finding redemption through human love and friendship,
the play resonates powerfully with individuals and communities at
historical and ethical crossroads.
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